Gooooooooood evening!
[My second favourite way to greet you, said of course in a creepy Dracula type voice.]
I hope you are having a great Thursday so far! My day has been good. Lots of productivity! I got caught up on my orders and I am now in full swing for Oakville Organic Farmer’s Market Prep for Day 2 on Saturday. The way I envision the summer going is I will do my online orders Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then I will spend Thursday and Friday preparing for Saturday’s market. In theory of course!
Oh dinner.
Oh me oh my.
First, I should tell you what led to such a fantastic dinner.
I went on a 4 mile run early this evening and worked up a huge craving for PASTA. and PESTO. Garlic Scape Pesto if you catch my drift (evil cackle).
Do you ever just want pasta and pesto? I typically don’t! You might already know that I am not a big pasta lover; it’s on the blog once a month, if that. Generally, I just find that pasta doesn’t taste very good to me. However, I don’t mind spaghetti noodles. Spaghetti and angel hair pasta are my two favourites. When I crave it, I must have it within 24 hours.
I’ll get back to the run first though.
The run was hot, hot, hot and humid, and more hot, and super windy! I wasn’t trying for speed in tonight’s run; my only goal was to make my last mile the strongest. Eric came with me on the bike.
Random side note– I told Eric that you guys were saying how trim and healthy he is looking lately and I think he was really happy. He tried to act nonchalant about it, but I secretly saw him smirking! :biggrin: I have been thinking about asking him if he would write a blog post talking about the changes he made, how he did it, and how he is now feeling…would you guys be interested in something like that? I think it might be cool to have a male perspective on making healthy lifestyle changes…
The run:
- Distance: 4.05 miles
- Time: 38:04 mins
- Avg pace: 9:24 min/mile
- Avg heart rate: 152 bpm
- Max heart rate: 175 bpm
Mile splits:
- Mile 1: 9:23
- Mile 2: 9:39
- Mile 3: 9:26
- Mile 4: 9:12 (hell yes!)
It was a sweaty one today!
Afterward, I did Polly’s Yoga for Runners, COLD shower, and when I came downstairs I was all kinds of starving! I made a new post-run refreshing snack that I will be sharing with you in tomorrow morning’s post. Stay tuned, it was delicious and took just 1 minute to prepare.
After re-fueling, I had energy to make dinner.
Wear a bib because you will drool!
I started off by making a double batch of my 3 minute vegan parmesan cheeze! Love this stuff. I sprinkle it on salads, sandwiches, soups, etc.
Then I made a double batch of my Easy Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto:
That is only half of what I made. For this double batch I also added a handful of basil that I had lying around. Prepare for your house to smell FANTASTIC.
Sadly, I only made a tiny dent in my stock pile of garlic scapes! I still have a full bunch + 3 scapes to use up. Luckily, they seem to keep really well in the crisper or I would be in trouble.
I put half of it in a freezer-safe Pyrex glass container and into the freezer it went for a rainy day…
Then it was time to really get started on dinner!
Asparagus Garlic Scape Pesto Spaghetti
[Adapted from Fat Free Vegan]
- 7-8 pieces of asparagus, with ends snapped off
- Whole wheat spaghetti noodles (make as much or as little as you want- I made enough for 2)
- 1/2-3/4 cup of Easy Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto + more EVOO or milk to thin out
- 1 medium ripe tomatoes, diced (optional)
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Directions: Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and toss in asparagus (with ends already snapped off). Cook for just 4 minutes and remove, placing into a colander and rinsing with cold water (this stops the cooking process). Bring the same pot of water to a boil again and toss in spaghetti noodles. Cook until al dente. Remove, drain, and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Chop your tomato. Take 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the vegan garlic scape pesto and place in a bowl. You will want to thin it out, so you can add extra virgin olive oil until desired consistency and/or you can add non-dairy milk or a thick creamer to achieve desired consistency. I added more EVOO, but next time I might try adding almond milk too as it was still very thick. Put noodles back in the pot and then add the thinned out pesto. Mix well until the noodles are fully covered with the pesto. Chop asparagus and add in tomato and asparagus into the pot and mix well. Season with freshly ground pepper and sea salt if preferred. I turned the heat back on and warmed it up again or you can serve it cold. Your choice!
I love Pasta + pesto! So decadent tasting, yet very healthy and packed with lots of superfoods.
Eric really loved this dish too.
Dessert…
Oh, by the way…Eric planted the basil outdoors in a pot! I hope it grows!!! Grow, basil, GROW!
We both do not have a good track record with plants. If it grows, it will be nothing short of a miracle.
He also planted a green onion bulb. A lovely reader named Colette told me that you can take the bulb of a green onion and either plant it in soil outdoors or just place it in a glass of water and it will GROW! [Colette, did I do it right?] :biggrin: I hope so. I will eagerly await this bad boy to grow!
Well, this gal is going back to work for at least a couple hours. I need to get as much done as possible tonight so I am not rushing around like a crazy woman tomorrow getting ready for the farmer’s market!
Until tomorrow, mes amies!
Holy sweat! That looks like an awesome run, Ange. And what a fabulous dinner to have after. Now I want pasta instead of the dinner I’m cooking!
I liked the Jerry Seinfeld ‘Helllllooooo’ greeting better! lol. I think I need to have pesto… like, right now. That pasta looks incredible!
yep, me too on the Seinfeld Hellllllooooooo… (I say that all the time) :)
One day soon I will try this gloriousness that is garlic scape pesto… then immediately make that pasta!! :)
well done, once again!
Fine, tomorrow morning its hellllllllooooooooo just for you two. I’ll bring it back.
Yes! We’d love to hear the changes Eric made. Off to make some pesto!
DROOL! that bowl of pasta looks like heaven to me right now :)
i would definitely be interested in a post from Eric…i think it would be great to show my hubby the changes someone else has made (correction: another guy has made) to encourage him to keep up the good work too!
That looks like an awesome dinner. It looks deceptively creamy!
The best thing for thinning out pesto on pasta is the water that you cooked the pasta in! It works awesomely. I got that one from Food Network =P Also I too enjoy the HELLLOOOOOOOOO, that’s one of my favorite Seinfeld scenes where she opens the door thinking he wants her back and that’s all he says. :)
That pasta looks amazing. I’ve been having strange carby, creamy, pasta cravings a lot lately.
The green onion thing worked for me. Now we have a huge vase full of onion. :)
Hi Angela! I’m a new reader. Well, more like I’ve been reading for the last month, but this is my first comment! I love your blog! Anyways, I would love to have blog postings from Eric. It would be wonderful to hear a guys perspective and show it to my boyfriend :). It could be “Oh HE Glows” teehee.
I would love to see a guest post from Eric!
That scape pesto is making me hangryyyyy :D Oh, and I struggle to switch up my post openings, but a favorite is always “Greetings!” One time I called my readers “peeps” and after reading that, I was like uhhhhhhh never again.
ooh I had a simlar dinner last night! Risoni with basil pesto – and some choc for dessert :)
A guest post from Eric seems like a great idea. Good luck with your market prep :)
After a run, pasta is sometimes the perfect meal. That looks like a wonderful dinner after a nice sweaty run!
I also would love a post from Eric! I am trying to influence my boyfriend to be healthier for himself too! I would never want to force it on him too…leading by example!
Wow, that pasta looks amazing. And it’s vegan? Colour me impressed!
I would love to hear Eric’s thoughts about healthy living. I wonder how much he’s been influenced by you? I am guessing a lot :)
I’m not much of a pasta fan either – I think we ate SOOO much of it growing up, I kind of got burnt out on it. It also happens to be a common “we have nothing to eat, so I guess I’ll make pasta” meal with me and the boyfriend. But, pesto? I love, love me some pesto!
That looks amazing. I need to get my hands on some garlic scape.
Okay, no kidding — I also made pasta with garlic scape pesto and tomatoes tonight! How funny that we both practically had the same dinner. The only major difference was that mine included a few pieces of bacon chopped up in it.
I’m totally in love with the scapes…I picked them up at the farmer’s market today and it was my first time trying them — so sad that their harvest season is almost over :(
I always say things in certain voices too!!!
Gorgeous photos!
Second Sara on using the pasta water to thin the pesto. The starch in the water helps the sauce adhere to the noodles. I had pesto too; broccoli pesto on quinoa. My first time making broccoli pesto (made a ton of basil last week), first time on quinoa. Loved them both! Yum to both your dinner and mine :)
I love pesto. i put in on everything, not just pasta.
i don’t know how you manage to just eat a tiny bite of chocolate.
I made your garlic scape pesto for dinner last night and it was AMAZING <3 I added fresh basil and sunflower seeds to it and it was A+++ delish! Your pasta looks really tasty too! I like the idea of adding tomato to it, such a great contrast from the peso in color and taste!